Hybrid supercars, diesel engines, affordable speed: David Booth counts off the things he's most thankful for

Originally published: December 27, 2013

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In most jobs, being cantankerous, paranoid and irascible would be express lane to the unemployment line. Since I am all three, I am most thankful that, as an automotive columnist, I am paid — well, kinda, sorta — for being suspicious and easily vexed. And I take this automotive column stuff pretty seriously, always on my guard for even the slightest indignity to the motoring world, most often railing against the work of the politically correct and righteously environmental.

And, lest you think this is just another case of MotorMouthian hyperbole, imagine your future self motoring along in a soulless Nissan Leaf, allowed only in the passenger seat since the government has mandated autonomous driving — humanoids being, well, so unreliable — with the entire affair monitored by insurance companies’ “black boxes” lest you try hacking the little golf cart’s speed limiter to exceed 100 kilometres an hour. They be all the work of the devil and hardly the freedoms that have always been the automobile’s raison d’etre.

But this is the festive season, a brief respite when we are all just a little nicer to our fellow man and forgiving of even those who would force us into electric cars. We’re a smidge happier behind the wheel, a trifle more polite to our fellow motorists and, most appropriately for the season, a mite more appreciative of the automotive bounty we have been delivered.

Ferrari LaFerrari in Maranello.Graeme Fletcher, Driving

Having, for instance, spent what seems the entire year testing nothing but mega-horsepowered supercars, I think we should all give thanks to the Toyota marketing machine for giving life to the hybrid. For without the ubiquitous Prius and its evangelical followers, we would have no Porsche 918, no McLaren P1 nor Ferrari LaFerrari (this last’s name is so pretentious, however, that I am seriously loathe to put it in the column), an average of 914 horsepower between the three of them and enough speed to challenge Le Mans racers of just a few short years ago. The little electric motors that we thought might spell the ruination of all things fun have morphed into superchargers that propel supercars past 330 km/h and imbue them with stability-enhancing all-wheel-drive so we, the less than talented, might enjoy their outrageous performance. A tip of the hat to Chris Paine, then.

Let us also sing the praises of automotive metallurgists, the ascendance of aluminum perhaps the saving grace of the large SUV — thank you Range Rover — and, if Ford does indeed launch an aluminum-bodied F-150 in 2015, the pickup truck as well. And we can only imagine the angst amongst the indignantly electrical when Land Rover brings a diesel-hybrid version of its lighter-than-steel Range Rover to market, their precious technology mated to the oft-vilified oil burning engine further ensuring that the much hated full-sized SUV will yet enjoy a long life. A moment of remembrance, then, for Al Gore’s fatalistic predictions.

Indeed, we should be thankful that more and more automakers are responding to the mandated improvements to corporate average fuel economy standards — foisted on us, again, by you-know-who — by offering more diesel-powered models. BMW’s 535d, for instance, offers real world highway fuel economy of six litres per 100 kilometres and the sophistication that only a BMW inline six can bring. The gateway to diesel frugality is also becoming ever more affordable, with Chevrolet’s Cruze now offering compression ignition below $25,000. And if we could just convince BMW to mate the aforementioned oil burner to two-high-powered electric motors, a la Porsche 918, we might finally have an (all-wheel-drive) M5 worthy of BMW’s engineering expertise. Let us pray to Saint Nick that the Bavarians regain their mojo and refocus their efforts on the ultimate driving machine.

Diesel engines have come a long way in the last 10 years. The Cruze is a solid diesel offering.Colleen De Neve, Driving

Let us also shout a few hosannas for Toyota’s desperate quest to shed its Mormon-like mien, the resulting Scion FR-S (and Subaru BR-Z) the best thing to happen to affordable sports car-ing since the Mazda Miata. For a mere $26,450 ($27,295 if you’re shopping Subaru), every closet F1 driver can flog a balanced, forgiving and eminently drivable sports car on track days and still have an economical, reliable and, perhaps most importantly, easily insurable ride home afterwards. It may be for McLarens and Ferraris that we pray for lottery winnings, but it is for affordable Scions and Subarus that we should be realistically thankful.

2013 Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S.Nick Tragianis, Postmedia News

And, finally, I would like to congratulate all those motoring enthusiasts who have remained skeptical of the doomsday prognostications of the enviroweenie. The Daily Mail recently noted that not only is the Arctic ice cap growing but that our future problem may turn out to be global cooling, not warming. We may yet resist the entreaties of the electric vehicle lobby. For this, too, we must give thanks.

On a more serious note, I would like to thank all Driving.ca fans for taking the time to both read and respond to my often meandering musings. The machinery that we all worship is meaningless without fellow enthusiasts with whom to share. More importantly, of course, I wish everyone — Driving readers or otherwise — the best of the season and hope that you and yours are happy and healthy for the holidays. Safe driving!